University College alumnus Neal Denton named senior vice president by YMCA of the USA

Oct 4, 2012From staff reports

Ohio University University College alumnus Neal Denton was recently named senior vice president, chief government affairs officer of the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) effective Oct. 15.

Y-USA is the national resource office for the 2,700 YMCAs in the United States.

In his new role, he will lead Y-USA's Washington, D.C.-based Government Relations and Policy Office, which directs the Y's federal, state and local advocacy.

For the past four years, Denton has served as senior vice president, government relations and strategic partnerships for the American National Red Cross, which federal policymakers rank as one of the nation's most successful nonprofit organizations at influencing policy decisions, according to a recent Independent Sector survey.

A highly respected nonprofit executive, Denton has been named to the NonProfit Times' "Power and Influence Top 50" nine times. Among his many accomplishments with the Red Cross, Denton led efforts to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations from Congress for Red Cross Disaster Services and Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces.

"I am thrilled to join the Y, an organization that is at the forefront of our nation's response to so many pressing social issues," Denton said. "YMCAs understand that partnering with policymakers can
magnify the impact of solutions and help bring about tangible, positive change in people's lives. I look forward to representing the Y and all of the communities nationwide that it works to strengthen."

Before his current job with the Red Cross, Denton served as the organization's senior vice president of service to the armed forces and chief of staff to the president. Prior to the Red Cross, he spent 20 years at the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, serving as executive director from 1993 to 2006. During his tenure he obtained passage of landmark postal legislation to preserve nonprofit mailing rates despite a near-total loss of $1 billion in annual legislative appropriations.

Denton began his career in Washington, D.C. in 1985 as a staff assistant for Ohio U.S. Rep. Dennis Eckart. He is a U.S. Army veteran and earned a bachelor's of specialized studies degree in political advocacy management from Ohio University's University College. In 2012, he was named a University College Outstanding Alumnus.